Air-engine plant.



M. THIBAULT & M. SAMWOLD.

AIR ENGINE PLANT.

APPLICATION FILED SBPT.26,1910.

Patented Sept. 12, 1911.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

couimnm PLANDGRAPH c0., WASHINGTON. n. c.

M. THIBAULT &. M. SAMWOLD.

' AIR ENGINE PLANT.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 26,1910.

Patented Sept. 12, 1911.

4 SHEETSSHEET 2.

Mil/265303 "in Z Patented Sept. 12, 1911.

4 SHEETSSHEET 3.

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AfZM h M. THIBAULT & M. SAMWOLD.

AIR ENGINE PLANT.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 2 1910.

1,002,943, Patented Sept. 12, 1911.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

3 Iii M'lnesses.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MAGLOIRE THIBAULT AND MICT-IAEL SAMWOLDTOF OTTAWA, ONTARIO, OANA I DA; SAID SAIVIWOLD ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD OF HIS RIGHT TO HENRI JULES MAY, 0F

OTTAWA, CANADA.

AIR-ENGINE PLANT.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, MAGLOIRE THIBAULT, residing at 209 Murray street, in the city of Ottawa, in the county of Carleton, in the Province of Ontario, in the Dominion of Canada, carpenter, and MICHAEL SAMwoLn, residing at 37 McKenzie avenue, in the city of Ottawa, in the county of Carleton, in the Province of Ontario, in the Dominion of Canada, waiter, having invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air-Engine Plants, do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

The invention relates to improvements in air engine plants, as described in the present specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings that form part of the same.

The invention consists essentially in the novel construction and arrangement of parts, whereby the air after utilization in the running of the engine, will be compressed and supplemented by air from the atmosphere and returned to the main tank.

The objects of the invention are to increase the efficiency of the air engine, to reduce the cost of compressing air for the en gine, and generally to provide an air engine plant simple and economical to manufacture and cheap as regards maintenance.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal and vertical mid-sectional view of the plant. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the various operating connections with the upper portion of the plant removed. Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view on the line A B in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view on the line CD in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view of a portion of the ap paratus showing various pipe connections. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional detail of the compressor pump, cylinder and piston. Fig. 7 is a perspective detail of the pump piston enlarged.

Like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is the main air tank having the enlarged ends 2 and 3, and the man hole 4 suitably closed, the said enlarged ends extending above and below the central portion and the whole being supported on the frame 5, which is here shown as the frame of a locomotive, though it must be understood that this tank and the rest of Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 12, 1911.

Application filed September 26, 1910.

Serial No. 583,933.

the plant may be supported on any suitable frame and used for other purposes.

6 is the exhaust air tank supported from the frame 5 and extending thereacross beneath the central portion of the main tank 1.

7 is a pump cylinder here used as an air compressor having the head 8 through which is the air outlet 9, said air outlet extending through said head from the cupshaped cavity 10 at the bottom of which a suitable valve seat is formed.

11 is a ball valve in the cavity 10, finding its seat in the bottom of said cavity.

12 is a bracket secured to the head 8 and extending thereacross over the cavity 10.

13 is a spring secured centrally to the bracket 12 and exerting pressure on the ball Valve 11, thus regulating the pressure at which the air is released from the cylinder 7. The cylinder 7 is supported on the frame 5 centrally under the enlarged end 8 of the main tank.

14 is the piston having the air openings 15 therethrough leading from the bottom of the cavities 16.

17 are ball valves spring-held to the bottom of the cavities 16 by the springs 18.

19 is a piston rod extending from the pisgon 14 through the open end of the cylin- 20 is an air receiver secured to an air opening 15 in the piston 14 and extending beyond the open end of the piston and having the bell mouth 21.

22 is a pipe connecting the other air opening 15 with the exhaust tank 6 and forming the means of communication between said exhaust tank and said cylinder 7, said pipe being here shown as a flexible tube of rubber or other suitable material, though it must be understood that it may be made in many other forms, one of said forms being a telescopic arrangement and another being a flexible joint connection. These are not illustrated or described herein, as it is obvious that one or another may be used, and for the purposes of the invention, it is not necessary to show more than one.

23 is an outlet pipe leading from the cylinder 7 to the enlarged end 3 of the main tank 1 and forming the means of communication between said cylinder 7 and said tank and the passage of compressed air into the main tank 1.

24 is an internal combustion engine here pumps, one of -26 is a shaft journaled in bearings sup,

ported from the frame 5 and extending rearwardly 1n the plant at a comparatively low level. 27 1s a spur gear mounted on the shaft 26 and coacting with the gear 25. 28- is a spur gear mounted at the other end of the shaft 26:.

gear mounted =on the shaft 29 and co-acting With the gear 28.

mountedbn the other end of thesha-ft 29.

thereof.

are fly Wheels mounted on the shaft:

is abevel gear Wheelco-acting with the bevel pinion 81.

3? are connecting rods pivotal-1y secured to the cranks 34 and having the cross heads 38 pivotallyconnectedto the piston rods 19.

'39 is a gasolene tank secured Within the enlarged end 3 ofthe main tank and suitably l tank 39 will operate and in turn insure theoperation of the several spum-ps as the gear connections from said engine to the'shaft-32 connected to the pistons 14, the latter are made 'to reciprocate :in the cylinder :7 and by this means draw in and 'compress air and force it into the main tank.

40 are the air engine cylinders having the exhaust openings 41 connected by the pipes 42 to the exhaust air tankband the inlets 43 connected by the pipes 44 to the main a'ir tank 1.

45 are d'ers 40.

pistons 45. and here shown as connected to the driving Wheels of the locomotive, though theyfmay be connected to any other machine. 47 '1s 'a turn-cock in the connections from i the main tank to the a ir' engine cylinders.

In the -'operation of this plant, -'the.=mainr tank is first fully charged with compressed air and thea'ir turned on into'the cylinders further comment.

there it is-s'ucked through the pistons 14 into the compressor ends of the pump cylinders T. Coincidently with the suction of the air.

3 i the pumps operated by the auxiliary en- 29 is a shaft ,journ'aled in suitable. bear-I 'ingssupported from the frame 5 and'extending longitudinally with the engine plant ata higher level than the shaft 26; 30 is a spur 1 :gine 24.

The description of the operation, and in fact the explanation of the details has been much confined in this specification to the application of the invention to a locomotive and in such use the engine will be found ex- 7 tremely efficient, though it is obvious that 32 is a cross "shaft ,journaled in "the bearings 33 supported by the frame -=5 and hav- 1 ing the cranks 84 intermediate of the length 1 it may be utilized for stationary plants.

It must be understood that various modifieations may be made both in the construction and the arrangement of the various parts in this invention, Without departing from the spirit of the invention, so long as I the main features, as pointed-out in the followin'gclaims for novelty, are adhered to.

VVha't We claim as our invention is:

I l. In an air engine plant, an air cylinder having inlet and exhaust openings and a piston operating therein, a main tank connected With said inlet, an exhaust air tank 5 connected with saidexhaust opening, an air =compressor pump having a plurality of suction orifices through the piston thereof and valves contrdlling said orifices, a bell mouthed air receiver secured to said piston over one of said orifices, and connections from another orifice to said exhaust air tank.

2. In an airengine plant, an air cylinder having inlet and exhaust openings and a piston operating therein, a main tank suiti ably connected tos'aid inlet opening, an exhaust air tank connected to said exhaust opening, an air compressor pump having a sin rob

rot

pistonoperating therein, said piston having cavities in the inner face thereof and suc- 3 tion channels or grooves in the Walls of said pistons operating in the cyl'inp said cavities through the outer face, bridges 46 are fPlStOIl rods extending from thecavities and air orifices from the beds of pump pistons to said exhaust air tank, bell mouth air receivers secured to said pump pistons at the other air openings, means connecting said pumps With said main air tank, and an internal combustion engine supported by said frame operatively connected With said crank shaft.

4. In a device of the class described, in combination, an air cylinder having inlet and exhaust openings, and a piston operating therein, a main air tank connected with said inlet opening, an exhaust air tank connected With said exhaust opening, an air compressor pump connected to said main tank and to said exhaust air tank, an in ternal combustion engine operating said pump, and an explosive mixture tank contained Within said main air tank and having an outlet therefrom leading to said internal combustion engine.

5. In a device of the class described, in combination, a locomotive frame, a running gear supporting said frame, a pair of air cylinders supported at the front end of said frame and having inlet and exhaust openings and pistons operating therein, a main air tank having a central portion terminating in enlarged ends and connected to said inlet openlngs, a crank shaft ournaled 1n said frame beneath the central portion of said air tank, a plurality of air compressor pumps having air orifices in the pistons thereof connected to said crank shaft and supported by said frame under the forward enlarged end of said cylinder and an internal combustion engine operatively connected to said crank shaft and supported by said frame at the front end thereof, an exhaust air tank supported by said frame connected to the exhaust openings of said air cylinder air cylinder pistons to the driving Wheels of the running gear.

Signed at Ottawa, this 29th day of August 1910, in the presence of tWo Witnesses.

MAGLOIRE THIBAULT. MICHAEL SAMWOLD.

Witnesses:

RENE A. PIGEON, M. MAHONEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

